Torta tenerina
A cake from Ferrara whose name means “tender”. It is a low chocolate cake with a thin, crisp, crackled crust and a moist, almost creamy centre. There is no baking powder — it rises only on beaten egg whites — and hardly any flour. It sinks and cracks after baking, and that is how it should be. It is intensely chocolatey yet not heavy, and takes half an hour to prepare from a few ingredients. Good dark chocolate is what counts.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Preparation 10 min
- Melting the chocolate 5 min
- Batter and whites 15 min
- Baking 30 min
- Cooling 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePrepare the tin
Heat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Line the base of a 24 cm springform tin with baking paper and grease the sides with a little of the butter.
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 60–70% · 100 g butter · 4 pcs eggs, separated · 150 g sugar · 30 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Melt chocolate with butter
Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 60–70% · 100 g butter · 4 pcs eggs, separated · 150 g sugar · 30 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Smooth and glossy — let it rest a moment.Beat yolks with sugar
Beat the yolks with half the sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate and butter.
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 60–70% · 100 g butter · 4 pcs eggs, separated · 150 g sugar · 30 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Add the flour
Sift in the flour with the salt and fold into the chocolate mixture just until combined.
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 60–70% · 100 g butter · 4 pcs eggs, separated · 150 g sugar · 30 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Whisk the whites
Whisk the whites and, once foamy, gradually add the rest of the sugar. Whisk to soft, glossy peaks — too stiff and they are hard to fold in.
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 60–70% · 100 g butter · 4 pcs eggs, separated · 150 g sugar · 30 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
Fold in the whites
Stir in a spoonful of whites first to loosen the batter, then fold in the rest in two additions, gently, from the bottom up, until no white streaks remain.
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 60–70% · 100 g butter · 4 pcs eggs, separated · 150 g sugar · 30 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
From the bottom up — the foam must survive.Bake briefly
Spoon the batter into the tin and bake 25–30 minutes. The top cracks and firms, a skewer inserted 3 cm from the edge comes out clean, while one in the centre comes out with moist crumbs. Do not overbake, or the cake loses its creamy centre.
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 60–70% · 100 g butter · 4 pcs eggs, separated · 150 g sugar · 30 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt
A moist centre — that is right.Cool and dust
Cool in the tin 30 minutes. The cake sinks and cracks further. Remove the ring, dust with icing sugar and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients: 10 g icing sugar
Before you start
What to serve it with
Tenerina is lovely with a spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream or mascarpone to balance the intense chocolate.
Gluten-free
Replace the wheat flour with the same weight of potato starch or rice flour — with so little, the difference is barely noticeable.
Storage
The cake keeps 3 days under a cover at room temperature. If you keep it in the fridge in hot weather, take it out an hour before serving, as cold it is dense.
